Where do they work?
Who works there?
What do they do?
What have they accomplished?
Financial data
How do they raise money?
Media and public discussion of the organization
Assessment by greendonor contributors

[Info pending]

The Board of Directors includes seven staff members of The Conservation Fund, four business people, including marine scientist Dr. Sylvia Earle, head of Deep Ocean Research, Inc., two academics (Environment and Botany departments), a former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and a partner in a law firm.

They are active throughout the United States and have a multi-faceted involvement in conservation. They seem to have a good overall handle on land use issues, and attach value not only to important natural areas, but to "open space" areas of cultural and social importance, such as urban/suburban green space, historic sites such as battlefields, high quality agricultural land, and areas with scenic or recreational value. Their primary activity is in securing protection for such areas, generally in partnership with others, such as local land trusts, government agencies, and community groups. This sometimes involves acquiring land, in which case it is usually transferred to a third party, such as the federal Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, a local land trust or a state government. In other cases, protection is afforded by purchasing or obtaining easements that permanently restrict future land use to protect natural values or to protect existing land use patterns, such as farming or limited selective logging. Other actions involve purchasing grazing, development or logging rights to areas where those activities are considered harmful. The organization provides assistance to other groups doing this kind of work and they also provide technical advice and expertise in land use planning. A few of their projects involve ecological restoration. And a small portion of their work involves economic and community development (in combination with conservation considerations).

The Conservation Leadership Network^TM, begun by the Fund and partners in 1998, aims to "strengthen the American conservation community" through courses, workshops, seminars and conferences. It provides training in areas such as conservation GIS, gateway communities, green infrastructure, fund raising, land stewardship and organizational management to conservation professionals.

Begun in 1987, the Conservation Fund's Freshwater Institute is a research and development facility dedicated to the sustainable use of water (including its use in aquaculture and farming), which "combines applied research, engineering, and economic development skills to show the critical role fresh water resources play in the achievement of economic and environmental goals".

The organization's quarterly publication, Common Ground, briefs its supporters on conservation matters (broadly interpreted), including relevant legislation and studies, and conservation gains achieved by the private, public and non-profit sectors.

This organization. Since 1985 it has protected, along with partners, 3.4-million acres of land with an estimated value of $1.8-billion. In 2002, 227,454 acres with an estimated value of $168-million were protected.

Their 2001 Annual Report describes achievements in 34 states. Most efforts involved securing (affording long-term protection to) areas with importance for wildlife/natural habitat, while a minority involved areas with historic, scenic, agricultural or cultural/social values. Areas protected ranged from 15 acres to 32,000 acres, with most falling in the range of 400-5000 acres. In most cases, land was acquired and transferred to a government agency for "long-term stewardship". In many of the remaining cases, conservation easements were purchased or donated. And a handful of projects consisted of planning initiatives. Some of the larger projects of 2001 were:

• The Fund has developed a strategic plan for land preservation along Chesapeake Bay's river systems. As part of this program, three miles of historic Chester River shoreline, 600 acres of unique Delmarva Bays, a 90-acre waterfowl sanctuary, and important habitat for bald eagle and endangered fox squirrel were protected with a 5,200-acre conservation easement.
• The Fund negotiated a 32,000-acre conservation easement over the California Swamp (bald cypress, hickory, and sweet gum), which serves as a filtration system for the Suwannee River and as habitat for the swallow-tailed kite and black bear. The Suwannee River Water Management District holds the easement, which permanently restricts development and limits timber harvesting to sustainable practices.
• The Fund continued to collaborate with local communities and Palm Beach County in Florida to purchase winter cropland and nearby lands that buffer the Everglades from development pressures. In 2001, the Fund helped to protect 1,200 acres, valued at more than $60 million, from development.
• In south Florida, the Fund worked with 1000 Friends of Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop a "smart-growth", education, and outreach campaign that includes a citizen's guide and community forums.
• The Fund assisted the Richard King Mellon Foundation in securing one of the largest unfragmented blocks of cypress/tupelo swamp in the United States. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will manage the 62,000-acre tract. This acquisition protects "a primeval remnant of the rapidly vanishing lower Mississippi Delta ecosystem".
• Since 1998, The Conservation Fund has worked with farmers and the Michigan's agriculture department to protect almost 13,600 acres of prime farmland in 27 counties. In 2001, the Fund secured its 50th conservation easement on farmland.
• Since 1996, the Fund has worked with local ranchers, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Clark County to purchase willing sellers' grazing allotments on public lands that contain habitat for the desert tortoise and banded gila monster. In 2001 the Fund negotiated the purchase of grazing rights on 76,384 acres, bringing protected lands to more than 730,000 acres.
• The Conservation Fund's Valle Grande Grass Bank in New Mexico is a partnership between ranchers, environmentalists, and Forest Service personnel, which serves as a demonstration project in landscape rehabilitation and sustainable ranching. Cattle are temporarily moved to the "Grass Bank" for grazing, while a ranch undergoes ecological restoration.

In each of the the most recent IRS Form 990s for the Conservation Fund, "other expenses" is the largest expense category: $33.2M (73%) in 2003, $35.7M (76%) in 2002, and $21.4M (69%) in 2001. These "other expenses" are detailed in an appended statement and they are broken down into program, administrative and fundraising categories. But the additional statement dooes not indicate what remuneration costs, if any, are included in these figures. And the descriptions of the largest items included under "other expenses" are unclear. In 2003, $22.1M, and in 2001 $12.8M, is listed under "disposition of demonstration projects". What is this? Proceeds from land sales? In 2002, $26.6M is listed as "net of proceeds received", which one assumes is the same thing, as it's the only item of a similar magnitude. Listed as "external transfers" is $2.29M in 2003, $1.26M in 2002, and $1.54M in 2001. Transfers of what to whom? And listed as "acquisition and program costs" is $2.04M in 2003, $1.22M in 2002, and $1.45M in 2001. We will ask the organization to clarify these items.

Table 1: Basic financial data for the Conservation Fund for the most recent years.

FISCAL YEAR	FINANCIAL DATA rounded to million (M) or thousand (K)		EXPENDITURES percent of total expenses
2003	Total revenue: Total expenses: Total assets (yr-end): Total liabilities (yr-end):	$106M $45.7M $289M $35.4M	Programs: Administration: Fundraising: ------------------ wages/benefits: professional & consulting fees:	94% 4% 2% ------------------ 18% 11%
2002 (ending , 2002)	Total revenue: Total expenses: Total assets (yr-end): Total liabilities (yr-end):	$60.1M $47.3M $237M $43.0M	Programs: Administration: Fundraising: ------------------ wages/benefits: professional & consulting fees:	95% 3% 2% ------------------ 16% 8%
2001 (ending , 2001)	Total revenue: Total expenses: Total assets (yr-end): Total liabilities (yr-end):	$64.2M $30.9M $218M $36.8M	Programs: Administration: Fundraising: ------------------ wages/benefits: professional & consulting fees:	92% 5% 3% ------------------ 22% 10%
NOTES:
Source: IRS Form 990 (courtesy of www.guidestar.org).
Assets: in the most recent year (2003), the main components were: real estate (76%) savings and temporary cash investments (11%) amounts due from affiliated organization (5%) loans related to conservation or "sale of demonstration project" (2%) securities (2%)
Liabilities: in the most recent year (2003), the main components were: amounts due other non-profit organizations (55%) mortgages & other notes payable (24%) deposits held (15%) accounts payable & accrued expenses (7%)
The figure for wages/benefits is the amount across all 3 categories (program, administrative and fundraising) as a percent of total expenses. Likewise for professional/consulting/contract fees.

Table 2: Breakdown of revenue for the 2003 financial year.

Revenue Category	As percent of total revenues
Private individuals, companies, foundations1	85%
Program service revenue (including government contracts)	7%
Government grants	7%
Net investment income & interest	1%
Other2	1%
NOTES: Of public contributions, 33% were in cash and 67% were non-cash donations.

1 We will ask for a breakdown of this category into the three components.
2 "Other" revenue: net revenue from: rent, asset sales other than securities, inventory sales, and special events, plus "other income".

The the Conservation Fund did not give a breakdown of program spending by program in its latest IRS Form 990. We will ask the organization for that information.

Table 3: Compensation for senior full-time staff for the 2003 financial year.

Compensation	Number of individuals	Job title(s)
$226,000	1	President & CEO
$222,200	1	Executive VP & General Cousel
$217,583	1	Chairman Emeritus
$125,000-$180,700	3	Senior Vice Presidents
$125,000-$159,500	4	Directors of Alaska Office and Illinois Office; Deputy General Counsel; Senior Associate
$83,000-$137,000	7	Vice President

We note that in the three years examined, the proportion of costs for (1) "compensation of officers, directors, etc." and (2) "other salaries and wages" is the same in the three categories of program, administrative and fundraising expenses, suggesting that allocations of staff time were made by applying one set of estimates to both management and other staff, rather than by independent measures of time budgets.

Table 4: Compensation for the five highest paid independent contractors (firms or individuals) for professional services in 2003.

Service	Compensation
legal services	$275K
"consulting"	$202K
GIS consulting	$133K
design & planning services	$120K
legal services	$113K

Sources of revenue in 2004 were:

[Info pending]
They sometimes work with private foundations and individual donors to apply large donations/grants to specific projects.

[further info pending]

[This section awaits the accumulation of input from visitors to the greendonor site.]